Practical guide · Educational reading
A practical workflow for connecting an energy figure to its source records, documenting estimates and preserving a reviewable calculation.
Audience / jurisdiction: Practical guidance for sustainability reporting teams; EU-oriented voluntary SME reporting example drawn from the identified 2025 VSME text.
Start with one figure and its supporting evidence
A sustainability figure is easier to review when someone other than its preparer can follow the route from original records to the reported total. This guide proposes a practical evidence workflow using energy consumption as the example. The folder structure, responsibilities and checks below are suggested working practices, not prescribed reporting requirements.
The reference point is the identified 2025 VSME text, an EU-oriented voluntary standard for SMEs. Its B3 disclosure expresses total energy consumption in MWh. Electricity invoices therefore offer a useful starting example, but electricity alone does not complete B3: that disclosure also addresses fuels, greenhouse gas emissions and emissions intensity. The aim here is a reviewable calculation, not a claim of complete VSME reporting.
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Define the figure before gathering files
Suggested practice: write a short definition sheet before requesting records. Identify the figure being prepared, its reporting period, included sites, source units and intended reporting unit. For an electricity subtotal feeding an energy disclosure, distinguish that subtotal clearly from the organization’s total energy consumption.
Assign a preparer, a source-data owner and a reviewer. These can be roles rather than separate departments. Ask the source-data owner to identify the records expected for each site and period. This gives the preparer a list to check against, rather than leaving completeness to whatever files happen to arrive. Record outstanding items explicitly instead of treating an absent record as evidence of no consumption.
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Separate source records from calculation work
Suggested practice: keep original records separate from the working calculation. Give each invoice or other source file a stable reference, then use that reference beside the corresponding workbook entry. Preserve the original quantity and unit even when the final calculation uses MWh, as in the cited VSME energy disclosure.
A compact evidence register could contain the metric identifier, site, period covered, source-file reference, original quantity and unit, conversion method, preparer and review status. Include a field identifying estimated entries. These fields are a proposed design, not a required template. Their purpose is to let a reviewer find the source and understand each processing step without relying on the preparer’s memory.
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Test the workflow with a missing-invoice example
Hypothetical example: a small organization compiles an annual electricity subtotal from monthly utility invoices. Its preparer lists the expected invoices for every included site and discovers one missing month. Rather than entering zero, the preparer logs the gap, requests the missing record and, if an estimate is used, labels that entry and documents the method.
The workbook retains invoice quantities separately from converted amounts. A reviewer then checks for duplicate invoices, missing periods, inconsistent units and unusual movements, and reproduces the total. These are suggested review tests, not an assurance procedure. The electricity subtotal remains clearly labelled as one input to the broader energy disclosure, avoiding an unsupported claim that the workbook completes B3.
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Close exceptions and preserve the approved version
Suggested practice: maintain an exception log alongside the calculation. For each unresolved issue, record the affected entry, the decision taken, who reviewed it and its effect on the total. If that effect is unknown, say so. Distinguish a missing source record from a calculation error: finding the invoice resolves one problem, while correcting a formula resolves another.
Before using the figure in a report, retain an approved workbook version and link it to the exact reported value. Record later corrections separately so the review history remains understandable. This suggested workflow supports evidence preparation only; it does not establish legal compliance, external assurance or complete application of a reporting standard.
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Your experience
Could a colleague reproduce your reported energy figure from the retained records without asking its preparer for an explanation?
Originally published by AdviseISO, a knowledge-sharing initiative of W3 Solutionz.
